Witness the birth of a legend and follow the adventures of Richard Cypher in the Emmy Award-winning series “Legend of the Seeker” airing Wednesdays on Studio 23.

Based on the novels “The Sword of Truth” by Terry Goodkind, the show tells the epic tale of young woods guide Richard whose fate takes a sudden twist after the evil wizard Darken Rahl invades the Midlands.

In order to save the people of this land, a mysterious lady named Kahlan Amnell heads to the Westland to look for him being the only seeker (according to prophecies) who can defeat Rahl. Now, Richard must step out of the comforts of his forest sanctuary and embrace his newfound destiny with the use of his sword. “Legend of the Seeker” airs Wednesdays at 8 PM.

From next level fantasy adventures, Studio 23 also bring you a more intense dose of medical drama this Monday (Dec 21), 8 PM, on “Private Practice.”

Miranda Bailey of “Grey’s Anatomy” guest stars this week as she brings a kidney transplant patient to Los Angeles. On the other hand, consequence of Addison’s emotional affair with Noah is starting to catch up with her while Sheldon and Pete finally discovered who the father of Violet’s baby is.

Both “Legend of the Seeker” and “Private Practice” (alongside other FUSE programs like “Desperate Housewives” and “Grey’s Anatomy”) can be watched online via Catch Up TV (www.studio23.tv). Kabarkadas can now watch the latest episodes as well as ‘catch up’ on past episodes of their favorite Studio 23 programs with just one click of a button.

Still nine contestants are on their way to getting a dream job and US$50,000 in the new pan-Asian reality television series HP Space after a surprise twist in the latest episode save the day for three contestants, including the two Filipino bets in the show.

The total 16 contestants at the beginning of the show were down to nine, with the Filipino pair still intact, coming in to episode four of this new exciting series shown every Wednesday at 9 pm on Star World. Another elimination is up, and three more candidates will need to pack up their belongings and return home at the end of the episode from Singapore, where this two-month show is staged.

Filipinos Raffy Francisco, a filmmaker, and 25-year-old performer Adrienne Vergara, along with their teammate Lora Lee, a design student from China, landed at the bottom of the three teams this week, which means they will be eliminated. However, the contestants were in for a big surprise: episode four was a non-elimination round, and the three were given a second chance to prove their worth.

The Filipinos survived the elimination – thanks to luck – but not without valuable lessons learned, especially for Francisco who was the only thorn among the two roses. He said being at the bottom and almost got eliminated made him realize that he must assert himself at every challenge.

For this episode, each team was asked to convert a confined hotel room into a modern, sleek and chic living space. The challenge was to redesign a bare room by incorporating Singapore iconography with a contemporary feel using textures with sleek and modern lines for the living space, and also, to show how HP personal computers can be an attractive entertainment center.

The week’s mentor Douglas Young, creator of G.O.D., took the contestants to Chinatown, Little India, and Geylang in search of design motives and iconography that they will translate into the modern design that pays homage to their Asian heritage.

Graphic designer Note Kunprasop from Thailand and illustrator Admira Pustika from Indonesia, struggled with Indian visual artist Sawan Singh, and the team suffered some “unforgivable” misses with their room design. But in the end, the team impressed the mentor by taking the risk of embracing the clichés.

Francisco, Vergara, and Lee’s design was a disaster, with another contestant commenting the room looked like a porn studio. Francisco made a short video presentation of their idea and somehow made the judges appreciate their concept. However, it wasn’t enough to save them from falling to the bottom.

HP Space, the latest platform for Asia’s aspiring talents to cultivate, nurture, and showcase their passion for creativity and the arts, is an entertaining new television series to watch on Star World. The show is a welcome breather on a Wednesday night, the middle of a work week. And with two Pinoys with strong chances of making it to the last man or woman standing, Filipinos have more reasons to enjoy this new Asian hit.

The show gets more exciting with each episode and the challenges more demanding of creativity and talent. Episode five looks to be another blockbuster with the contestants strutting their stuff in fashion. Be sure to catch it every Wednesday at 9 pm on Star World.

Every child with special needs has a right to an educational program that is suitable to his/her needs. Having the right education and the right tools is crucial in ensuring that a child fully realizes his/her full potential for development, both as an individual and as a member of the society.

It is for this reason that our company, Etera Events, is initiating a Special Education Expo on December 1, 2009 at the newly renovated Glorietta Activity Center. Simultaneous to the exhibition is a Special Education forum, storytelling, games and performances by celebrities.

The Special Education Expo 2009 is the first fair on special education to be held in the country. With the theme “A World of Possibilities”, this event aims to bring together parents of special children, special education schools, therapy centers, toy manufacturers, suppliers of special tools and equipment, specialized food sellers, book publishers, and other SPED industry practitioners like teachers, doctors, therapists, among others.

The goal of the event is to create awareness on the needs of special children and provide options for these individuals to ensure they live a happy and normal life.

By contributing to make this event happen, you are helping improve the quality of life and dignity of more than 5.4 million Filipinos who are in need of special education products, equipments and services. Proceeds for the said event will be given to Support and Empower Abused Deaf Children, a non-profit organization dedicated at defending the rights of deaf children who are victims of sexual abuse and maltreatment.